The Eagle Eye News

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Air Rescue Team Retrieves 'Fallen Angel'

By Air Force Capt. Erick Saks
455th Air Expeditionary Wing
KAPISA PROVINCE, Afghanistan, May 2, 2011 - Airmen from Bagram Airfield's 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron performed a daring mountainside rescue here April 23 after an Army helicopter crashed in a hostile valley.

Air Force Maj. Jesse Peterson and Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shane Hargis, 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, practice a hoist mission April 22, 2011, the day before they were called upon to recover the pilots of a downed Army helicopter in Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Bill Cenna

The airmen, deployed from the 33rd Rescue Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan, and the 212th Rescue Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, recovered an injured pilot and a fallen hero while often coming under heavy fire.
The mission began before daybreak, when the squadron's tactical operations center received a report of a "fallen angel" -- the term that signifies a downed aircraft. Within 10 minutes, the Pedros of the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron had two HH-60 helicopters airborne and en route to the site where a coalition helicopter reportedly was down.
The helicopters -- Pedro 83 and Pedro 84 -- quickly flew toward the crash site, about 20 miles from Bagram, and held off about five miles away as they linked up with the other air assets in the area, including F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets and AH-64 Apache and OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters.
"When we arrived, one of the Apaches already had eyes on the aircraft, and he lased the pilot so we could see him," said Air Force Capt. Louis Nolting, Pedro 84 copilot. "At this time, we had thought that the pilots were collocated and that they'd egressed together from the aircraft."
One pilot had climbed several hundred feet to a ridge above the aircraft wreckage. This ridge is where Pedro 83, the lead aircraft, used its hoist to insert its team composed of Air Force Maj. Jesse Peterson, combat rescue officer; Air Force Tech. Sgt. Chris Uriarte, team leader; and Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shane Hargis, team member.
"Once lead got the [pararescue jumpers] on the ground, we found out the pilots had split up," said Air Force Maj. Philip Bryant, Pedro 84 pilot. "The pilot who had egressed told the PJs that the other pilot was unconscious and at the crash site."
The PJs relayed the information about the second pilot still with the downed helicopter, and Pedro 84 was directed to insert PJs near the wreckage.
Based on the information, Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Kline, pararescue assistant team leader, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Bill Cenna, pararescue team member, began preparing their gear for their insertion near the crash site. At about 180 feet, the hoist was significantly higher than their standard descent due to the surrounding terrain.
"It was the longest hoist I've ever been on," Kline said. "When we got on the ground, I was still under the impression that we were close to the other team, so we took a knee. We were about 50 meters from the crash site, and we didn't see the other guys, so we made our way to the site."
The team approached the pilot and found he had died. The PJs immediately began preparing the fallen hero to be hoisted out.
Overhead, Pedro 84's flight engineer had retrieved the hoist cable and was getting back into position when the aircraft began to take fire.
"Not more than two seconds after forward momentum was executed, ... [we notices] pop shots," said Air Force Staff Sgt. William Gonzalez, Pedro 84's gunner. "The first thing we start doing is checking to see where it's coming from and checking everybody out. And, maybe five seconds later, the [flight engineer] says 'I'm hit.'"
In addition to manning one of the Pave Hawk's .50-caliber machine guns and monitoring the aircraft's systems, the flight engineer runs the hoist on the aircraft. Air Force Tech. Sgt. James Davis was the engineer on Pedro 84 when it was first engaged by enemy fire.
"I had just turned off the hoist, and I was sliding back into my seat when the round came through the helicopter and hit me in the leg," he said. "They asked, 'Are you all right, Jim?' and I said, 'No I'm bleeding pretty good here.'"
Pedro 84 rejoined Pedro 83, but determined they were no longer mission capable after the injury to the flight engineer. They headed back to Bagram to get care for the injured flight engineer and to pick up another engineer to take Davis' place.
Gonzalez immediately moved over to provide medical care for Davis.
"I looked back, and the first thing I saw was a pool of blood by his seat," Gonzalez said. "I went over to assess his situation. I saw that he was still conscious and saw that he was still breathing. I put his tourniquet right above the wound. After I had it on, I went over to the PJs' medical kit and grabbed some gauze, and I wrapped it around the leg, trying to absorb as much blood as I could."
When the Pave Hawk landed at Bagram, the gunner, copilot and a Marine Corps lieutenant who saw they needed assistance off-loaded Davis, who was brought into the Craig Joint Theater Hospital emergency room.
The flight engineer said the timing of the shot is what made the difference between a serious wound and a potentially fatal one.
"I had been in the doorway with no way of protecting myself to get the PJs on the ground," Davis said. "I got the cable up, and as soon as I slid from the doorway to the seat, the round came in. If I was still in the doorway, the round would have hit me right the in body armor or below it, and I'd have been in much worse shape."
As they cared for their injured crew member, Pedro 84's crew also worked to find a replacement for Davis so they could get back to their PJs on the ground.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Heath Culbertson was sleeping at Bagram Airfield when Davis was shot, and he was awakened up by frantic knocking on his door.
"They said, 'Get up, we need you in the [tactical operations center] now,'" Culbertson said. "I asked, 'What's going on?' and they said Davis had been shot."
"When we taxied over from the [refueling point], Culbertson had just walked out and was ready to go," Bryant said. "He came, got into the aircraft, got hooked up, and we took off. The crew swap only took about four minutes."
The reality of the situation hit Culbertson as he approached the aircraft.
"As soon as I got underneath the rotor, I saw the blood," he said. "It was pretty surreal. I'd seen blood before in the cabin, but never from any of our own guys. That was pretty shocking to me."
Back on the ridge above the crash site, the three-man pararescue team treated the pilot, pulled security and prepared for extraction. As team commander, Peterson coordinated for pick-up and passed along information about the situation on the ground.
"My job as team member was as the medic," Hargis said. "I checked over the pilot on the ground. He was fully alert and oriented with stable vital signs, and he had a laceration on his jaw."
Overhead, Pedro 83 swept the area, searching for the enemy.
"As we came around, I saw rounds come up, so I returned fire," said Air Force Senior Airman Justin Tite, Pedro 83's gunner.
The crew determined the enemy fire originated from a tree between the two PJ teams on the ground.
"There were no other trees on the slope except this one huge tree right in the middle between the two teams, and that's where they were hiding," Tite said.
Seeing that his teams were split up by enemy positions, Uriarte realized they were not going to be able to walk to the PJs below. As the enemy fire began picking up, Air Force Capt. Joshua Hallada, Pedro 83's pilot, decided they needed to get the PJ team and pilot off the ground as soon as possible.
"So we set ourselves up to come in for a hover similar when we first [inserted the team], although much lower," Hallada said. "Being that it was a little lighter now, we brought it into a 20-foot hover over our team and the survivor."
As the pararescuemen and the engineer worked to get the survivor into the aircraft, enemy fire increased, threatening Pedro 83.
"The team started to hook up the survivor, and that's when the pilot started to call rounds off the 1 o'clock," said Air Force Senior Airman Michael Price, Pedro 83 flight engineer. "Someone called the go-around at that point, and I sheared the cable to stop from dragging them through the rocks."
Price used the guillotine-type device built into the hoist to cut the cable and prevent injury to the airmen below.
"I had the strap around the survivor, and I was hooked into the cable," Hargis said. "I gave them the signal to bring up the cable, and I noticed a little more slack coming out. I thought maybe he didn't see me, so I gave him the signal again, and the next thing I know, the cable's sheared."
Hallada said he didn't realize at first that Hargis had cut the cable. "We came back around," he said, "and I was setting up to go lower and further back into the rocks so that we could prevent them from hitting us to try to get them out again. On short final, I was informed that we didn't have a hoist. He had told me several times -- I was just overwhelmed with other stuff."
Pedro 83 went around for yet another pass as the crew tried to figure out how to proceed.
"I determined we needed to one-wheel hover," Hallada said. "It's when you just set a wheel down on the rock next to them and hover the rest of the aircraft at the same time, allowing them just to jump on."
The maneuver took 10 seconds at most, with the PJs and survivor jumping onto the aircraft, followed by a speedy takeoff. However, the aircraft took damage from enemy fire as it lifted off.
"We went back into our overwatch patterns, realizing we'd been hit at that point," Hallada said, "and we started trying to figure out what to do next, seeing as we didn't have a hoist and we knew the lower [landing zone] was hot."
Pedro 83 stayed to provide overwatch for the remaining PJs and pilot despite the damage to their aircraft; however, running low on fuel, they were relieved to hear that Pedro 84 was on its way back.
"We left for [Forward Operating Base] Morales-Frazier planning to get gas, ammo and return," Hallada said. However, once we landed, the situation caused us to shut down and evaluate further."
At Morales-Frazier, Uriarte and Hargis transferred the injured helicopter pilot to the field surgical team while Peterson ran to the tactical operations center to coordinate with the ground force commanders. Meanwhile, Price looked over the aircraft to examine the extent of the damage. At first glance, he said, the damage appeared minimal. But then the airman checked the main transmission fluid.
"It was pretty much bone dry," Price said. "I told the captain we couldn't fly. We really didn't want to create another [personnel recovery] event out there."
The Pedro 83 crew began working with their operations team at the tactical operations center to get back into the fight. This entailed Air Force 1st Lt. Elliott Milliken, Pedro 83's copilot, coordinating a ride back to Bagram to pick up their spare aircraft.
There, the crew quickly loaded into the fresh Pave Hawk with additional pararescuemen and a small maintenance team, and they headed back to Morales-Frazier.
Pedro 84 arrived back on the scene to find significant airpower had joined the fight to protect the pararescue team and pilot still on the ground.
"While we were away, the A-10s had shown up," Bryant said. "We train with the A-10s to do this -- combat search and rescue. When we got back out there, there were three Apaches and four A-10s operating in the area."
The enemies in the large tree continued to threaten the aircraft and ground personnel until the A-10s and Apaches engaged the target. "The A-10s were using their nose guns and their rockets, and the Apaches were using their chain guns," Nolting said.
With the situation appearing to have settled down, Pedro 84 made an attempt to extract the PJs and remaining pilot. An Army Apache teamed up with the Pave Hawk to move to the landing zone.
On scene for the first time, Culbertson was able to get eyes on the crash site and the PJs. He was guiding the pilots down to the site when he began to hear what he thought might be gunfire.
"I heard whistling by my head," he said. "But, I thought to myself, 'That can't be. I've got my helmet on. There's no way I'm hearing the hisses.'"
It wasn't until Culbertson heard the impacts on the aircraft that he realized they were under fire, and he began searching for points of origin.
"Next thing I know, I get thrown on my console," the flight engineer said. "I still didn't know what was going on at that point. But from this vantage point, I could see under my gun, and I could see the muzzle flashes. I remember shaking my head to clear it, and then just a rage of fury came over me."
It wasn't until much later that Culbertson realized a bullet had entered his helmet on the right side, through his visor and exited the other side of the helmet without injuring him.
"I called for the go-around, turned the gun power switch on, and just started unleashing the .50-cal on these two points of origin," Culbertson said.
While Culbertson remembers the event in "slow motion," Gonzalez said the entire engagement was very quick.
"All of this happened within four seconds," he said. "I hear him say 'I'm scanning, I'm scanning. There was the 'pop-pop-pop' from the ground, then the 'guh-guh-guh-guh' from his gun."
Nolting credits Culbertson's quick and collected response to saving the aircraft. "Without him returning that fire, there was a chance that our right engine or hydraulics could have been shot out," he said.
Running low on fuel, and with plenty of air support on scene to protect the team on the ground, Pedro 84 returned to Morales-Frazier, where the crew looked over the damage to their aircraft. It was at this point they realized not only that Culbertson had been hit, but that Gonzalez had been hit as well.
"I initially counted seven rounds that had impacted the cabin," Gonzalez said. "And then I noticed the one that was under my seat. It had come from under my seat and fragged outward. One piece missed my right knee, and the other actually bounced off my knee and went through my knee pad."
Determining the aircraft was still flyable, Pedro 83 and Pedro 84 prepared to head back to the crash site together. Before departing, the pararescuemen who had come in with the spare aircraft from Bagram loaded onto the Pave Hawks.
"The situation being what it was, we didn't know how long the mission was going to take," Uriarte said. "We thought it was best to switch crews so that they could do some work and we could pick it up later in the night."
At the crash site, Kline and Cenna assessed the situation. With Pedro 84 off scene due to Davis' gunshot wound and Pedro 83 on its way to Morales-Frazier, there was little they could do but wait. They hunkered down near the aircraft and the pilot, waiting for the Pave Hawks to return.
"It was at that time when we started taking fire," Kline said. "I didn't know what was going to happen at that point. We were both preparing ourselves mentally to stay there for a while."
The enemy fire was sporadic as they took cover at the base of the mountain.
"Initially, it was just a couple shots here or there," Kline said. "But then, it really started to get close. Both of us ducked and got behind a rock outcropping. I think I saw the rounds impact before I heard them."
Unable to see the muzzle flashes, Kline requested support from the aircraft above.
"I was basing all of my calls for fire off the impacts," he added. "If rounds hit here, they had to come from there. There was no other way. We were just watching where the dust flew and taking a reverse azimuth."
The team member began looking for escape routes should the conditions deteriorate further. "To me, there was just one," Kline said. "There was this ravine. It was approximately 25 meters away."
The team eventually had to use the egress route as the enemy fire became overwhelming for the two airmen.
"We thought we were in pretty good coverage with the boulders and the helicopter," Cenna said. "But I distinctly remember looking over at [Kline] at multiple times, seeing rounds and dirt flying right next to him. How we were not hit was pretty amazing."
"It felt like 30 rounds were all around us, all within a two- to four-second period. They just hit everywhere," Kline added. "They hit the aircraft, and it went up in flames. It quickly overtook the aircraft, and I yelled at [Cenna] to get the hell out of there. I had noticed during my initial scan of the aircraft that there was still a rocket pod with rockets in it. That was my concern -- that it was going to be like the Fourth of July."
Kline and Cenna sprinted for the ravine taking cover from the aircraft fire while dodging enemy bullets.
"That's when it started exploding," Kline said. "Even while we hunkered down, they still kept shooting at us. The rounds were ricocheting above our heads. I have molten metal on my kit from where the helicopter had exploded."
Kline kept in contact with the air assets throughout the firefight, providing situation updates and receiving information about the enemy who was closing on their position.
"They provided overwatch the whole time," Kline said. "They were like, 'There are these guys 300 meters to the north of you; we're going to go hot on them.' We could feel the concussion from the rockets."
Kline also recalled seeing an Army quick-reaction force being flown over their position as they waited.
"I could see guys sitting there in their seatbelts with their guns," he said. "And as they were going by, I could see [a rocket-propelled grenade] whiz by. I looked up, and I could see the burst on the western mountainside."
Kline and Cenna said they would go up to 15 minutes without a shot fired on them, but that every time they would begin to signal that they were clear, the firefight would start up again.
"I'd say, 'Hey, it's been clear for 15 'pop-pop-pop-pop,'" Kline said. "It was every time I would try to tell someone it was clear, they'd pop off a couple of rounds."
While waiting in the ravine, Kline and Cenna overheard the medical evacuation request for a member of the quick-reaction force.
Together for the first time since Davis was shot, Pedro 83 and Pedro 84 left Morales-Frazier, hoping to extract the PJs and the second pilot. But they received the medical evacuation call before they arrived on scene.
A soldier had been hit and died within minutes of the call, Bryant said. Then as the Pedros approached the area, another soldier was hit, requiring immediate medical evacuation.
"When we got to the scene, there was an incredible amount of helicopter traffic in the valley," Hallada said. "It was more than I've ever seen anywhere in this entire country, going all directions. There were UH-60s, Apaches, Kiowas and French helicopters."
Two Apaches joined the Pedros' Pave Hawks, creating a four-ship rescue formation. But the number of enemy fighters on the ground and the amount of firepower they wielded resulted in several unsuccessful passes over the landing zone.
During the first attempt, Pedro 84 began descending into the ravine as the other three aircraft provided cover.
"As we got down to about 30 feet, [Gonzalez] and I starting seeing muzzle flashes from this one building 200 to 300 feet from us," Nolting said.
The flight lead determined they need to pull around, and as Nolting worked to get the aircraft out of the valley, the flight engineer and the pararescuemen engaged targets in the building.
Just barely passing over some wires that were strung along the valley, Nolting was able to safely get Pedro 84 out the zone. The aircraft formed back up for another pass with Pedro 83, this time attempting to land and extract the soldier.
"As we were about to set down, we were engaged, and all of the aircraft returned fire, including the Apaches," Hallada said. "As we took off, I immediately saw the wires out the windscreen, and I pulled everything the rotor system had to get over them."
On the third attempt, Pedro 84 was just feet from the ground when they started taking fire again, Bryant said. At that point, one of the Apaches performed a buttonhook back toward them and began engaging enemy targets.
"It split the formation, firing rockets and guns," Nolting said. "It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. It was deconflicted, it was safe, and it was awesome."
Based upon the threat, the formation again pulled out of the area to reset. At that point, the Apaches fired their Hellfire missiles, destroying a confirmed position that had been posing the immediate threat to the aircrews and the soldiers on the ground.
On the fourth attempt, Pedro 83 finally was able to land and extract the injured soldier. The Pedros saw this as the ideal time to finally extract the second pilot and their PJs.
"There had been this tremendous weight on us the whole mission since we'd left our PJs in the zone," Nolting said. "This was our golden opportunity to get them out."
Nolting contacted with the PJs as Pedro 84 began to move into position above them, and they agreed on an extraction game plan. Culbertson would lower the hoist, the PJs would first hook the pilot's litter to the line, then they would connect themselves on a second hoist. But just as the aircraft made its decent, the engineer noticed that the hoist had broken.
"I knew that we had to get our PJs out, and this was our opportunity," Culbertson said. "The only other option I had was to go to backup mode. I said a little prayer, pushed down, and it worked."
The problem with operating the hoist in backup mode, he explained, is that the speed is significantly slower. But they lowered the cable, and the pararescuemen connected the pilot.
"That's pretty brave to send up a hero and not yourself when you've been there over five hours," Nolting noted.
The lack of speed in the hoist was clearly evident to the PJs below the aircraft, the flight engineer said.
"As I'm putting the hoist down there, I can see Kline down there waving for me to go faster," Culbertson recalled. "I'm like, 'Sorry, brother, I can't go any faster. The hoist is broke.'"
"By this time, I was expecting for us to get shot down," Nolting said. "We'd been there so long, I truly expected we were going down."
For the first time that day, however, the aircraft did not take any fire, and Pedro 84 was able to extract the pilot and PJs and evacuate the area.
Kline and Cenna spent about five and a half hours in the valley, dodging bullets and the explosion of the aircraft. And while he didn't know whether he would make it out of the area alive, Kline said, he knew that he never would have left without the downed pilot.
"We were going to do everything in our power to get him back," he said. "If I had to clip in and hold him, I would have. There was no way he wasn't coming back."
Before leaving to have his injuries treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, Davis expressed his pride in his squadron's actions.
"We did what we do," he said. "We've got a motto for a reason: 'These things we do that others may live.'"

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U.S. Air Forces Central

Monday, May 02, 2011

Intelligence, Operations Team Up for bin Laden Kill

Mon, May 2, 2011 at 8:23 PM
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2011 - The plan to attack the compound of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden was the result of relentless intelligence work and operational professionalism, White House officials, speaking on background, said this morning.
The operation was the culmination of years of careful and highly advanced intelligence work, officials said, as officers from the CIA, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency worked as a team to analyze and pinpoint the Pakistani compound where bin Laden was killed.
Once the intelligence pointed precisely to the compound in Abbottabad –- a town 35 miles north of Pakistan's capital of Islamabad –- the work on the mission began between the intelligence and military communities.
"In the end, it was the matchless skill and courage of these Americans that secured this triumph for our country and the world," one official said.
A small team conducted the helicopter raid on the compound. An official called it a complex operation, noting that the compound was a virtual fortress -– built in 2006 with high walls, razor wire and other defense features. Its suburban location and proximity to Islamabad complicated the operation, the official said.
"The men who executed this mission accepted this risk, practiced to minimize those risks, and understood the importance of the target to the national security of the United States," he said. "This operation was a surgical raid by a small team designed to minimize collateral damage and to pose as little risk as possible to noncombatants on the compound or to Pakistani civilians in the neighborhood."
U.S. helicopters delivered the team to the compound, and the team was on the ground for less than 40 minutes, an official said. They did not encounter any local authorities. In addition to bin Laden, three adult males were killed in the raid.
"There were several women and children at the compound," the official said. "One woman was killed when she was used as a shield by a male combatant. Two other women were injured."
One of the U.S. helicopters was lost at the compound due to mechanical failure. The crew destroyed it on the ground, and the assault force and crew members boarded the remaining aircraft to leave, an official said.
"There's also no doubt that the death of Osama bin Laden marks the single greatest victory in the U.S.-led campaign to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida," the official said. "It is a major and essential step in bringing about al-Qaida's eventual destruction."
Though the organization's terrorists still are dangerous and al-Qaida may not fragment immediately, an official said, "the loss of bin Laden puts the group on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse."
The United States did not share any intelligence on the raid with any other country, the official said.
"We believed it was essential to the security of the operation and our personnel," he said. "In fact, only a very small group of people inside our own government knew of this operation in advance." Shortly after the raid, he added, U.S. officials contacted senior Pakistani leaders and told them about the raid and its results.
"Since 9/11, the United States has made it clear to Pakistan that we would pursue bin Laden wherever he might be," the official said. "Pakistan has long understood that we are at war with al-Qaida. The United States had a legal and moral obligation to act on the information it had."

Bin Laden's death is a powerful counter to enemy

Mon, May 2, 2011 at 5:01 PM

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, May 2, 2011 - News of Osama bin Laden's death raced through the tents and plywood buildings that make up the headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team here this morning.

Within minutes of the president's televised announcement brigade leaders met this morning in their daily battle update briefing, and soldiers checked in by cell phone with buddies on other parts of the base: "OK, just wanted to be sure you heard."

Task Force Currahee is on its second deployment to Afghanistan, responsible for counterinsurgency operations in Paktika province. Soldiers here smiled as they discussed the death of the terrorist responsible for murdering nearly 3,000 Americans and other nations' citizens in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

Army Maj. Rob Born, brigade operations officer, said bin Laden's death won't require the task force to change its operations significantly.

"The assessment was in many ways, he was more of a symbolic, moral and figurative leader than he was involved in the command and control of day-to-day operations," Born said. "I think we will find out whether or not that hypothesis was true, and what the impact is."

He said the task force will analyze the effects of the al-Qaida leader's death within its area of operation over the coming days and weeks.

"We definitely expect and anticipate retaliatory attacks," he said. "[But] if they're hasty and not well planned, it's not going to work out well for the insurgents."

Born said bin Laden's death is a validation of the nation's efforts to combat terrorism.

"I think it's a tremendous achievement," he said. "It shows that persistence and attention to detail, agility, flexibility, working together with special operations forces and the intelligence community – it pays off."

The positive demonstrations outside the White House and in New York City during Obama's announcement were encouraging, Born said.

"It just shows that the American public is really engaged in what's going on, and they take pride in the achievements of their armed forces," he said. "That really was the best thing that I saw."

Army Capt. David McKim, the brigade's assistant intelligence officer, termed bin Laden's death an example of how his profession operates.

"That's truly how it does work for us," he said. "Things don't happen instantly, sometimes. A lot of our successes take time to build."

He said for his shop, the mission in Regional Command East remains finding the enemy in Paktika and protecting the soldiers and population.

Enemy forces the task force faces in Paktika are not necessarily closely linked to al-Qaida, McKim said, though many in Regional Command South are.

Insurgents in Paktika are likely to respond to bin Laden's death in one of two ways, McKim said: their morale could suffer, or their activities could increase in retaliation.

The al-Qaida leader's death comes at a time when I think everybody had given up," he said. "They thought, 'He's either dead, or we're not going to find him.' But that's how things work in our business – you don't know when."

The fact that the military did find bin Laden "gives you that justification that yes, we are doing the right things," McKim said.

In the overall counterinsurgency campaign, McKim said, bin Laden's death is a powerful counter to enemy propaganda, which claimed America would never capture him.

There is no likely successor to bin Laden who will have the same stature, McKim said.

"He was tall, he spoke very eloquently, ... [he had] power, influence, money," the intelligence officer said. "Granted, there are lots of other bad guys out there that will try to take his place."

Other insurgents may now think twice about attacking U.S. and coalition forces, he said.

"I think this is definitely a good thing," McKim said.

The war is not over--Obama

Mon, May 2, 2011 at 11:53 AM

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2011 - "Justice has been done," said President Barack Obama in announcing the death of Osama bin Laden in a U.S. military operation in Pakistan.

An American counterintelligence and counterterrorism team killed bin Laden during a firefight near Islamabad, the president said during a short statement from the White House late Sunday night.

"Tonight I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaida, and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children," the president said.

The attack ends a manhunt of almost 10 years. Bin Laden and his henchmen planned and executed the attacks of September 11, 2001, that killed 3,000 innocent Americans in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Obama thanked "the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who have worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome."

"We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country," he said. "They're a part of the generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day."

He said Americans also were united to protect the nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice.

"Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we've made great strides in that effort," the president said. "We've disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense."

Soon after 9/11, American forces removed the Taliban government that had given bin Laden and al-Qaida safe haven and support. Around the globe, U.S. personnel worked with allies to capture or kill scores of al-Qaida terrorists.

"Yet, Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan," Obama said. "Meanwhile, al-Qaida continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world."

Shortly after taking office in 2009, Obama directed CIA Director Leon Panetta to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of the U.S. war against al Qaida.

"Then last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden," Obama said. "It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground."

Obama met with the national security team as more information came in. The al-Qaida leader was hiding in a compound inside Pakistan, and last week he ordered the strike.

"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan," he said. "A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body."

While his death marks the most significant achievement to date in America's effort to defeat al-Qaida, it does not mean the end of U.S. efforts.

"There's no doubt that al-Qaida will continue to pursue attacks against us," the president said. "We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad."

The president stressed again that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam.

"I've made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam, because bin Laden was not a Muslim leader. He was a mass murderer of Muslims," Obama said. "Indeed, al-Qaida has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity."

Obama thanked Pakistan for its help in the operation. It's important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding," the president said. "Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people."

Obama spoke with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and all agreed that this is a good and historic day for both nations. "Going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al-Qaida and its affiliates," he said.

"The American people did not choose this fight," the president said. "It came to our shores and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as commander in chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who's been gravely wounded."

But Americans will not tolerate being threatened, Obama said. "We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies," he said. "We will be true to the values that make us who we are."

Obama spoke to those who lost loved ones on 9/11, telling them that the country has never wavered in its determination to bring bin laden to justice.

"Tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed," he said. "Yet today's achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people."

The war is not over, he said, "but tonight we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it's the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens, our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.

"Let us remember that we can do these things, not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Minimally Invasive Surgery to Rescue of Patients

Master Sanjay Kumar - 9/M - S/o Mr Karam Raj – a factory worker of Hisar–suffered from a serious malady called myasthenia gravis in which the muscles of the body get tired very fast. This can have serious consequences as the patient may be unable to breathe at all. The cause is an auto-immune disorder in which the body produces a poison against its own muscle receptors. In a number of such cases cure can be got by removing a tumour called a thymoma which is present in most of these patients. The surgery requires a long cut in the front of the chest and can be quite a cosmetic problem for the patient.

Mini Sternotomy Thymectomy CMC

In such cases a unique surgery has been devised in the Cardio Vascular & Thoracic Department of the Christian Medical College & Hospital. Dr Harinder Singh Bedi – Head of CVTS – said that instead of a long midline cut and a complete division of the breast bone – an alternative is used. Here the cut is a small transverse one and the bone is cut only partially. The completeness of the surgery is not compromised in any way. The tumour was completely removed. Sanjay is now a happy boy. His scar is not visible at all.

Such keyhole surgeries increase the acceptance of surgery in some patients esp young ladies who tend to avoid even life saving therapies in fear of perceived cosmetic disadvantage. Dr Bedi – who is a world leader in minimally invasive cardiac surgery with his name in the Limca Book of World Records for the Worlds first keyhole cardiac surgery using a cath lab in OT – told that the same technique can now be applied to other cardiac surgeries also .The other members of the team are Dr.Allen Joseph, Dr.Arun Gupta, Dr.Muneesh, Dr.Viju Abraham, Dr.Pranay Pawar and Dr.Richa.

Dr Abraham G Thomas – Director of CMC & H – said that it was a matter of great pride for Punjab as the Limca recorded World first surgery had been developed in Punjab itself. He told that the CMC was always committed to be in the forefront of any technology which will help the patients of this region. Report from --Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria

Amnesty International Calls for Independent Probe

Amnesty International Media Release
Thursday, April 28, 2011

Amnesty International Calls for Independent Probe Of Deadly Yemen Attack, Saying It Undermines Hope for Real Reform

Washington, D.C.:Amnesty International today called for an urgent independent investigation into the attack in Yemen Wednesday by armed men believed to be affiliated with the security forces. The attack that left at least 11 protesters dead occurred as security forces stood by without trying to stop the violence.

"If real reform is to take place in Yemen, the current spiral of violence must be brought to an end and those responsible for killings such as those committed yesterday must be brought to justice," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's director for the Middle East and North Africa. "Disturbingly, this is one of the deadliest attacks seen in Yemen in over a month and may have be intended to undermine plans to strike a political deal that will see President Saleh stand down and bring an end to the killings on the streets."

Men in plainclothes reportedly fired at protesters as they marched past the May 22 Stadium in the capital Sana'a. Men described as ‘thugs’ also attacked protesters with batons.

A 14-year-old boy, Abdulrahman Muhammad al-Okairi, was among those killed. Scores of other protestors were injured.
The men in plainclothes opened fire on protesters marching from the square outside Sana’a University, where many have been camped since February.

The men, who are believed to have been members of the security forces or militant government supporters, reportedly fired from rooftops and from inside the stadium.

When the march had reached the TV station near to the stadium, armed men lined up behind the protesters and began firing at them.

“There were bullets firing everywhere. They were shooting at everything and at anyone, even old men and people who were not participating in the protests,” Ala’a Jarban, an eyewitness, told Amnesty International.

“A guy was shot in the head right in front of me,” he said.

Members of the security forces who were present guarding the stadium and the TV station are reported to have stood by and taken no action as the attacks were being perpetrated.

“Their failure to act to prevent the killings or arrest those carrying them out, suggests strongly that the security forces were complicit or, at the very least, acquiesced in the attack,” said Smart. “Their inaction needs to be thoroughly, urgently and impartially investigated.”

Clashes began when pro-government supporters threw rocks at protesters whose march had reached the May 22 stadium where pro-government supporters were camping.

Some anti-government protesters reportedly threw rocks back in response. After being fired upon, some protesters apparently burned tires apparently to create a smokescreen to make it more difficult for snipers to shoot at them.

Ten of those shot dead yesterday were named as Abdulrahman Muhammad al-Okairi, Muhammad Ali Rashed al-Ansi, Abdullah Ali al-Samri, Azmi Khaled Muhammad Shamsan al-Makramy, Abdulrahman Muhammad Ahmed Amran, Assim Abdulhamid al-Hammady, Abdulwahid Abdulrahman al-Mansoob, Murad Abdulhaq al-Ariqi, Aziz Khaled al-Qirshi, and Abdullatif Miqdam, according to Amnesty International’s sources.

Another man, Nasser Mohammed Nasser Fadaq, died after reportedly being run over by a car, according to field hospital volunteers.

An ambulance car was also reportedly shot at as it was trying to reach the wounded protesters.

This latest killings bring the death toll to more than 130 since anti-government protests began in Yemen last January.

Protesters have demanded that President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in power since 1978, should immediately step down and that members of his administration should stand trial for the killings of protesters in recent weeks.

A political deal proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council, which has been mediating between the President and the opposition, would have the President stand down after 30 days but give him and his key associates blanket immunity against prosecution.

"The Yemeni president and his political allies must not be given immunity from prosecution as the price for ending the country’s continuing human rights crisis," said Smart.

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
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